“Our first AD Rudy … came up to me and says, ‘Hey listen, I have an idea.’ … It was that I should go to the prop master, another genius part of our show, and have them make some elephant ears.”

Elephant ears? OK, we like where this is going so far…

“The first thing we see is Nina’s reaction, so what if I was completely naked and we had elephant ears and double-stick tape, and I put them on each of my thighs, and ultimately, she would be staring at a very small, young elephant,” Ian continues. “The reaction that we got was f—ing amazing. I hope and pray that that is what we used in the edit because it was such a natural ‘Ohmygod!’ reaction.”

Hey, Rudy! On behalf of the entire HollywoodLife.com staff, as well as Vampire Diaries fans everywhere… we thank you.

Check out the infamous clip of Damon below, in case you missed it last night — or if you just want to watch it again: